Guddu Rangeela is an upcoming Bollywood action/comedy film, starring Amit Sadh and Arshad Warsi in the titular roles of Guddu and Rangeela respectively. The film also stars Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead female role, and Ronit Roy in a negative role. Subhash Kapoor, National Award-winning director for his last film, ‘Jolly LLB’, and director of ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama’, returns with yet another unconventional-looking film. The film is about two cousins living in North India, who try to make ends meet in the crime-infested surroundings. Their messing with a political gangster, and how they manage to overcome him together, is what the tale is all about. The film has been produced by Sangeeta Ahir. Subhash’s last outing ‘Jolly LLB’, for which he bagged himself many National Awards, was appreciated by critics and received mostly positive reviews from audiences. Moreover, the music of the film had a massy appeal as well, composed by ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ franchise fame, Krsna. However, this film, set in rural areas of the country, seems to be having a more massy touch to it, and so, the music should be just as massy, as well as catchy and energetic. This time, Subhash chooses Amit Trivedi to compose for his film, giving him a very short soundtrack to compose, with just three songs. After the success of the unconventionally great music of ‘Bombay Velvet’, both Amit and his fans must’ve been dying to see him back in his usual quirky form, and this album does contain some prospects for that to come true. On top of Amit’s three songs, the director Subhash himself, plays the guest composer for one song. So let’s see, how much buzz Amit manages to create for Subhash until this quite small-scale film hits the theaters!

Those who were complaining about Amit Trivedi losing his ‘magic touch’ in ‘Bombay Velvet’ (Believe it or not, there were such complaints, which is totally fine!!) will definitely be satisfied with Amit’s work in this track. Right from the beginning, that T-cube (Typical Trivedi Touch) is present, and it just takes you back to the days when Trivedi used to compose all those massy albums like Ishaqzaade, Aiyyaa, Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana etc. The same quirk that Amit loves to infuse in all of his massy albums, is evident in this song. And the genius thing is that, along with making the song sound desi, Trivedi has also managed to add a very obvious Irish touch to it! The bagpipe-like techno notes follow a very recognizable Irish/Scottish kind of tune. And the percussion consisting of dhol-taashe, and other unusual sound effects, sounds just spectacular when mixed with the techno sounds. The guitars wonderfully support the other instruments, and so do those beautiful bulbul-tarang interruptions! The second interlude witnesses rock guitars and bulbul-tarang, played on a splendid rock template, supported by drums! The composition, as stated before, is a very typical Amit Trivedi thing, but doesn’t fail in the entertainment department, with that nursery-rhymish catchy tune, and the wonderful vocal harmonics, that are a must in a Trivedi song. Divya Kumar, who was introduced to Bollywood by Amit, and then sang a few songs for him, the last being ‘Allah Meherbaan’ (Ghanchakkar), returns in his camp after all those Sachin-Jigar songs, and coincidentally, the song he gets, is quite similar to ‘Allah Meherbaan’ in terms of the composition. Anyways, he renders all the silly and crazy lines perfectly, and is given great support by Amit, singing in his non-perfect yet attractive and unique voice. Divya also carries out his high-pitched harmony parts very beautifully! Irshad’s lines as just as silly, and describe in a very entertaining manner, the relation between the two brothers, Guddu and Rangeela. All the words used to describe them, like “Thaali Ke Baingan”, are really something that nobody would think of, except the genius Kamil. Next comes the “Remix”, which isn’t a remix at all! It is a different version of the title track we already heard! 😀 In this, Amit aptly replaces himself with Shahid Mallya, who sings his parts greatly. Amit also appoints wonderful backing vocalists, Keshia Braganza & Gwen Dias, who turn up the quirk factor even more. This version is a more quirky rendition of the same title track. Techno sounds have been used great! Where the first version resembled ‘Allah Meherbaan’, this one bears a great resemblance to the title song of Bombay Talkies! 😛 Lyrics are unaltered, but the tune has been changed and the arrangements and tempo pepped up! The presence of Shahid and other fun factors make this one also an enjoyable listen! Both versions are fun and enjoyable, and both resemble an Amit Trivedi song of the past! But very creative arrangements and lively vocals!! And commendable lyrics!!#5StarHotelSong!!

After the brotherly love, it’s time for some breezy romazce between the male and female leads. And for this, Trivedi goes into sublime mode, and dishes out some of the best notes, arranges them together and Voila! the result is ‘Sooiyan’. Starting with a pleasant guitar riff, the song instantly makes you feel that whatever follows, will be worth the four minutes of your life. On top of that, singers like Arijit and Chinmayi are bound to get you excited. The last time they came together was for ‘Mast Magan’ (2 States) under Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s direction, and they gave us something beautiful. This time, they get to sing for Amit. Chinmayi is surprisingly singing for him for the first time, surprising because her voice is so great, I was expected this to happen way earlier! Amit has composed a pleasant and cheerful tune which doesn’t sway from its ‘romantic’ tag for even one second, yet manages to entertain for the whole time. The nok-jhok number like old Bollywood songs, gets a re-entry into Bollywood with this song, with the two leads teasing each other. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics are another highlight of the song. Very smartly he’s penned down what would happen if a boy is behind a girl, who’s clearly not interested. Amit has done extraordinary programming, too, apart from the wonderful tune. Though it starts unlike an Amit Trivedi song, with guitars playing in the background, as it progresses towards the hookline, it turns more and more Trivedi-ish and in the hook, you can feel the full-on Trivedi Touch. The genius that Amit is, has introduces wonderful matka with banjo in the hookline, giving it a desi yet country cowboy-ish feel. And it sounds just heavenly! The mukda and antara are both adorned with awesome and unusual arrangements, and those in the antara are bound to soothe you down very much. The singers, of course, play a great role here, and all the expressions are carried out perfectly by the two. Chinmayi’s rendition of the line “Yun Galat Patey Pe Chitthiyaan…” just touches the heart! Arijit sings in a composition, the kind of which he hasn’t been heard in much, and aces it too! All-in-all, a spectacular affair, with Trivedi successfully bringing heaven to earth!#5StarHotelSong!!

This song also starts with guitars, but somehow, it immediately is understood that this song is going to be more mature than the previous song. And the sarangi which follows the guitars, proves the point even more. Where in the previous track, it seemed like an amateur love, or a love just for fun, in this track, things change, and the love has matured into real and serious love. The Amit touch vanishes, and he sets all his stereotypes aside, and churns out a sublime melody, which really seems surreal, thanks to the wonderful arrangements, sugary vocals, mature lyrics and lilting melody. Chinmayi sings for Trivedi for the second time in one album itself. And that shows how much he was impressed by her, and it clearly shows in the song that his reasoning was totally right. She carries the melodic piece almost alone on her shoulders, and it seems like things can’t get any better, but right when you think so, Shahid Mallya enters and blows your breath away! His rustic and earthy voice really suits the composition, and he returns in the romantic avatar in which he sang his first popular song, ‘Rabba’ (Mausam) for Pritam. Trivedi also comes in to conclude the song with slightly modern vocal rhythms, which end the song on a note very different from how it started. He also hums in parts of the song when Chinmayi is singing. Arrangements are also beautiful. They are mostly soft and calm guitar riffs in Chinmayi’s part, but the sarangis in interludes really make a huge impact. However, the real magic starts when Shahid comes in. He is supported by wonderful, rustic sounds of sarangi and above all, the great beats of the dafli. The mouth organ also makes appearances in places. Last but not the least, Irshad Kamil’s lyrics really make it sound even more mature. The romantic line he wrote in ‘Sooiyan’ and in this song really contradict each other, and show that the romance has grown and matured. Sugar-coated, and filled with lots of love!! Lovely vocals, arrangements, composition and lyrics!!#5StarHotelSong!!

To end up the album, we have something wacky, insane and something that has been tried innumerable times in Bollywood, but has always failed. An attempt to compose a mata ka jagrata. We last heard one in ‘Dilliwaali Zaalim Girlfriend’, where it was very poorly composed. However, here, the director Subhash Kapoor takes over. As soon as it starts, you know Amit hasn’t done it, because the whole feel is different. Even if you don’t read the credits you can tell Amit hasn’t composed it! Heck, even a newborn will think Amit hasn’t done it and he’ll be awarded for his great music sense! 😜😜 Anyways, this jagrata doesnt actually fail as such, because Subhash had made sure it has a catchy ring to it. At the same time, it seems like he’s mocking the tradition of these jagratas. The Indian banjo (bulbultarang) opens up the track, and harmonium accompanies it later, followed by dholaks and dholakis, which give an awesome bass effect. Other arrangements are also spot on. The microphone effect is also great, and so are the claps. Gajendra Phogat, a Bhojpuri singer who sings these jagratas in his own albums, has been roped in to sing it, and does sing good. Where the song fails, though, is the composition, which only manages to attract attention for a short time. The fact that the song is 2½ minutes long, might surprise you, because you might be thinking that there wouldn’t be anything to be disappointed with in such a short period of time. But there is! And also, the lyrics are just the cheap kind of humorous. So, apparently, the Goddess has sent this guy an email and invited him to Facebook. Her website is http://www.mata.com and her profile picture is a lion. This is the gist of the lyrics. 😂 Crazy, aren’t they? Hear it, but don’t expect to love it! Just expect to like it as something to pass your time with.

Guddu Rangeela is surprisingly, a very good album, considering the low status the film has managed to get itself, because of the limited appeal it has. Amit comes back to his own territory after treading Bollywood legends’ territory in ‘Bombay Velvet’, and makes an album that, all in all, turns out to be an entertaining affair. Though the director’s song doesn’t have much scope to be loved by all, the other songs are sure to be loved, but just need good promotion, especially ‘Sahebaan’. Irshad’s genius lyrics really help in the appeal of the songs, too. And the singers behind the songs would attract listeners like flowers attract bees. I would conclude by saying that, the sooiyan (needles) of this album are musical and totally harmless! Well done, Amit Trivedi, again!

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